RIPE NCC Activity Plan and Budget 2024

Our Activity Plan and Budget sets out our plans for 2024 along with the associated costs. Costs are provided in terms of Full Time Equivalents (FTEs), Operational Costs (OPEX) and Capital Expenditure (CAPEX).

This document is the clearest way for members to learn about our plans and influence the direction we take next year. We see this as an integral part of maintaining the trust of our membership, by ensuring high standards of transparency and accountability.

It is important that members understand how to provide feedback. Each year, we publish a draft Activity Plan and Budget within four weeks of the Autumn RIPE Meeting. At this meeting, time is allocated to discuss our services during the RIPE NCC General Meeting (GM). We also invite members to ask questions and discuss our plans on the RIPE NCC Membership Discussion mailing list ([email protected]) and via the RIPE NCC Services Working Group ([email protected]).

The feedback received over this period is then incorporated into a final Activity Plan and Budget that is approved by our Executive Board and published in December.

Executive Summary

In 2024, we expect an income of 38 million euros. We are budgeting for costs of 38.2 million euros, with a negative operating result of 200 kEUR, which will be offset by a budgeted financial result of 400 kEUR. The result is an overall budgeted surplus of 200 kEUR. The 2023 budget was based on an income of 40 million euro, but we have only seen around 38 million euro. This is because we have fewer LIRs than budgeted, LIRs we cannot invoice and partly due to the freeze of the waiting list when the Charging Scheme was discussed. We have already taken measures to limit costs in response.

We predict that we will start 2024 with 21,500 LIRs, and we estimate our income to be 38 million euro, 5% down from our 40 million euro budget for 2023 but equal to the 2023 income estimate (as mentioned above). The reduced income is due to a number of factors, including the consolidation of multiple LIR accounts, the war in Ukraine, and revenue from members in Ultra High-Risk Countries and OFAC-sanctioned members that we are not able to access due to restrictions from our banks.

During discussions on our Charging Scheme earlier this year, there were clear signals from members that we should focus on cost efficiency and reduce total spending. Therefore, when planning our budget and activities for 2024, we have prioritised cost savings wherever this is possible without compromising the quality of our services. We will reduce the budget across all pillars of the organisation as we look for more cost-efficient means to provide our activities and services.

The top five areas for cost savings compared to the 2023 budget are:

• 1.9 M EUR (36%) Consultancy
• 0.8 M EUR (18%) Information Technology
• 0.2 M EUR (6%) Outreach & Public Relations
• 0.3 M EUR (20%) Contributions
• 0.2 M EUR (21%) Travel

The largest area of savings is consultancy, which has a reduction of 1,860 kEUR compared to the 2023 budget. This is due to the removal of 8.5 consultants: 4 were fully removed, 2.5 have become FTEs, and 2 have moved to an Employer of Record (more on this is included at the bottom of this section). Specifically, in the technical parts of the Registry (the LIR Portal, RPKI and the RIPE Database), the budget for three full-time consultants has been cut, which will require a shift in how we carry out our work. In External Engagement and Community, two consultants have moved to an Employer of Record. A further 2.5 consultants in Organisation Sustainability have also become FTEs. We have budgeted for a 1,394 kEUR (6%) increase in personnel costs to cover increased salaries due to market development and inflation.

In IT, we have a budget reduction of 750 kEUR compared to 2023. Within the Registry, we have made significant savings through reductions in our ticketing and sanctions compliance licences. We have also significantly reduced costs for our IT software licences overall following a critical review. In Information Services, we have reviewed the cost structure on the backend for RIPE Atlas, RIPEstat and RIS. As a result, we will reduce our data centre presence by 50% over the course of 2024.

Our budget for outreach and PR will be reduced by 175 kEUR. We had originally planned to reduce our budget by 375 kEUR by cutting back on our national outreach and local development activities. However, after hearing feedback from members during the RIPE Meeting and at the November 2023 General Meeting on the negative impact this could have on the community, the Executive Board decided at its December meeting to allocate an additional 200 kEUR to fund national outreach efforts.

This means we will be able to continue to offer the usual support to technical (Network Operator Groups) and other community meetings and academic initiatives in our service region. However, we will not organise a RIPE NCC Days event in 2024.

We are also planning to reduce the overall amount of our contributions by 294 kEUR. The NRO Budget has not been finalised, but we have reduced our budget for the NRO shared costs contribution to 400 kEUR, 200 kEUR less than in 2023.

Travel has also been cut back significantly, by 248 kEUR compared to the 2023 budget. This equals an average of 116 fewer trips in 2024 than in 2023. However, we have some flexibility within the budget limits to allow teams to plan the travel necessary to meet their objectives, as they can decide whether to have fewer more expensive trips to distant locations or more trips within our service region. We will also continue to explore other solutions for engagement besides travel, such as more virtual attendance at meetings.

Our overall plan for 2024 is to ensure sufficient and stable income for 2025 and beyond. We will work on our ability to collect funds from all members in a sustainable and compliant way. We will maintain our increased focus on cost efficiency for optimal usage of membership funds, including a clearer external demonstration of cost awareness. To improve efficiency, we will look at reducing manual processes. Risk mitigation is also a priority, as we will strengthen our risk assessment and management practices to safeguard the RIPE NCC against unforeseen challenges and market fluctuations.

Employer of Record/Consulting

We have entered into a so-called Employer of Record (EoR) agreement with an external party so we can hire staff outside the Netherlands, depending on business needs. This allows us to continue to provide services while being closer to our membership throughout our service region. The full-time equivalent (FTE) numbers in thisreport include both employees directly employed by the RIPE NCC and staff contracted through our Employer of Record. This ensures flexibility for the RIPE NCC to hire talented staff where needed and gives job security through a regular employment contract in their country of residence. (To clearly differentiate between FTEs and EoR, this cost is shown under consulting costs rather than payroll.) To reduce costs, we will also continue our efforts to reduce the use of long-term consultancy contracts and replace them with regular employment contracts either directly or through our EoR. Our FTE count will grow by 1%, from 190.6 to 192.3 (187.3 FTEs plus 5 EoR contracts), and the consultancy budget will be reduced by 36%, from 5,160 kEUR to 3,300 kEUR.

Overview of 2024 Strategic Focus Points

Our activities are intended to align with the objectives outlined in the RIPE NCC Strategy 2022-2026:

1. Support an open, inclusive and engaged RIPE community
2. Operate a trusted, efficient, accurate and resilient Registry
3. Enable our members and community to operate one secure, stable and resilient global Internet
4. Maintain a stable organisation with a robust governance structure
5. Attract engaged, competent and diverse staff

To accomplish these long-term goals while addressing more immediate challenges, we have decided on the following focus points for 2024:

3.4 Be a centre of excellence for data, measurements and tools that provide insight on the Internet and its operations.

4.1 Ensure the organisation’s stability and financial strength.

4.2 Be resilient in the face of political, legislative and regulatory changes that have the potential to affect our operations.

4.4 Maintain necessary levels of security and compliance with best practices and applicable regulations.

Our ability to provide high-quality data, measurements and tools is one of our key strengths as an organisation. We share data and insights with our members and the RIPE community to support their technical development and promote the use of best practices in network operations and routing security. This data also helps members to identify overall routing patterns and see where their operations can be improved. In 2024, we plan to enhance the functioning and usability of our existing services, from UI improvements to processing speeds and data availability. Our data is also invaluable in helping policy makers and governments make informed decisions as they draft regulations that affect technical aspects of the Internet. We will continue to share our insights in 2024 to strengthen Internet operations all the way from the technical backend to the policies and laws that affect our operations and those of our members.

As we consider the future of our organisation and how best to meet members’ needs, we have carefully evaluated how we operate, while also looking at where we can make improvements. We expect reduced income in 2024 which will require us to operate on a reduced budget. We also heard a clear message from our members during the Charging Scheme discussion to focus on cost efficiency, and this has been at the forefront of our planning for next year. As always, we will continue to deliver high-quality services even with a reduced budget. For instance, while our Technical Training and Development budget is going down, the team still aims to deliver as many training courses as before. To aid in our planning and stay resilient in the future, we will also continue to develop our organisational structure for more efficient internal processes. Alongside this, we are improving our documentation and the external face of the RIPE NCC through a revamped website. And we have adopted more methods for evaluating our efforts, such as through implementing Objectives and Key Results, that will guide us as we plan and adapt to our members’ needs.

The rapidly changing world of regulations and legislation is another reason we must consider potential threats to the way we operate in the future and proactively prepare for them. Sanctions have continued to be a major concern, and though we have automated a number of processes in our Registry Monitoring to reduce our workload, sanctions compliance remains a significant area of focus for our Registry and Legal teams. This year, we have had success in working with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs to confirm that a recent EU exemption to sanctions applied to a number of our members, and we will carry on with our efforts to seek a blanket exemption that will ensure we can provide uninterrupted service to all our members. But sanctions are just one example of how regulation affects our operations. We see an increasing push by numerous organisations and governments for more centralisation and top-down Internet governance, which presents a threat to the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) system as a whole and to the bottom-up governance that has served us well so far. This means we must work to make sure the voice of the technical community is heard by lawmakers to prevent any fragmentation of the technical core of the Internet or of our community’s ability to coordinate on best practices.

To bolster our long-term stability, we will continue our focus on maintaining compliance with applicable regulations and following best practices. We are aligning our processes with international frameworks such as the ISO 27000 series, and we are increasing our risk management efforts. We are continuing our compliance programme to certify the RPKI service against an international industry standard and are expanding our compliance focus on fraud prevention in our Registry functions. While these initiatives are led by the Information Security, Risk & Compliance department, the implementation effort is spread across several teams such as Software Engineering, Information Technology, Human Resources, Finance, Legal and the Registry. We are undertaking initiatives to modernise our risk management processes and move towards automated and continuous compliance. All of these efforts will work together to strengthen our resilience to future developments, as well as to ensure the highest level of security and protection for the resources that our members depend on.

To be transparent about how each of our activity areas in this document contributes to achieving our five-year strategy, we have outlined the specific strategic objectives and goals each area supports at the start of the relevant sections.

Budget Figures 2024

RIPE NCC Budgeted Statement of Income and Expenditure 2024 (in kEUR)

*EBITDA: Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation

Overview of RIPE NCC Costs per Activity 2024

On this page is an overview of the Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs), Operational Expenses (OPEX) and Capital Expenses (CAPEX) per activity. All amounts are in kEUR. The overview is presented on two levels. Each activity is linked to the relevant section in the document.

Our Research activity, and two employees working on external engagement for our research services, have moved to External Engagement and Community, specifically as part of the Community Coordination and Collaboration activity. Therefore, Research is no longer listed as an individual activity under Information Services in the Overview of RIPE NCC Costs per Activity. We have also moved the budget for the Community Projects Fund from Community Building and Membership Engagement to the Office of the Managing Director, as the Fund is distributed at the discretion of the Executive Board and a committee of RIPE community members. The budget for our ISOC Platinum membership has also been moved, from Community Coordination and Collaboration to the contributions under the Office of the Managing Director.

Overview of Costs per Activity 2024

Activity Overviews

For each of the main areas of activity, we have provided an overview that gives readers a summary of what to expect in that area for 2024. All statistics under ‘Measurable Usage’ relate to a specific period: numbers stated for 2023 are taken from 1 July 2022 - 30 June 2023. The same months are used for 2021, 2022, 2023 (and so on) for consistency.

1. The Registry

At the heart of our work at the RIPE NCC is our duty as a Regional Internet Registry to properly manage our members’ resources. As part of this, we ensure that all resources are registered to the appropriate parties and that registration details are updated as needed. We also make information available to our members and other users about the legitimate holdership of resources to help make routing more secure.

Strategic Objectives:

1. Support an open, inclusive and engaged RIPE community
2. Operate a trusted, efficient, accurate and resilient Registry
3. Enable our members and community to operate one secure, stable and resilient global Internet

Strategic Goals:

1.1 Support the RIPE community’s open, bottom-up process of consensus-based decision-making

2.1 Ensure that the Registry and RIPE Database have the appropriate levels of accuracy, compliance, resiliency, and security

2.2 Allow updates to the Registry to be done by automated processes with legally accepted digital means

2.3 Improve Registry processes, service delivery and interfaces that allow members to carry out their operations with us quickly and effectively

3.1 Secure Internet number resources by developing and operating a resilient, externally auditable and secure resource certification Trust Anchor

1.1 Registration Services

FTEs: 19.7 (+0.6)
Cost: 2,300 (+6%)
CAPEX: - 

Description
As an authority on unique Internet number resources, we enable our members and others to operate and develop the Internet. We are responsible for maintaining the RIPE Registry and allocating and assigning IP addresses and AS Numbers within our service region, according to policies that have been set by the RIPE community. This includes allocating recovered IPv4 addresses via a waiting list and our efforts to ensure these addresses are fully routable.

The Internet landscape is dynamic and constantly changing. Much of this change needs to be reflected in our Registry. When resources are transferred to another network, or when a resource holder changes their company structure or legal name, we review and process updates to the associated Registry information. This often requires supporting documentation. A big part of this work is about avoiding conflicts over who holds specific resources. Since the IPv4 run-out in 2019, the number of IPv4 address transfers is still increasing, and we continue to deal with fraud cases and disputes over holdership.

We also support the RIPE Policy Development Process (PDP). We provide assistance to RIPE working groups, analyse the impact of specific proposals and encourage participation from a wider group of stakeholders. 

Activities in 2024
We have been focusing on ensuring accurate registration data for all of our members and independent resource holders. We review this data when handling routine resource requests or requests to update Registry information, and through focused verification initiatives. By the end of June 2023, 94.3% of our members and 92.6% of independent resource holders had been verified at least once within the last five years. In 2024, our objective is to achieve a 100% verification rate.

Beyond ensuring the accuracy of our Registry, we are also dedicated to verifying its integrity. To accomplish this, we plan to conduct an external audit, and we will implement any necessary improvements based on its findings. The audit will require extra expenses in Q4 2023.

As RIPE secretariat, we will also support the RIPE community in the development of RIPE Policies, should the need arise. This includes supporting the proposers of any policy changes, working groups, and their co-chairs. We will also continue to share our observations and highlight trends related to Internet Number Resources, with the goal of providing a comprehensive overview for consideration by the RIPE community.

To provide the best possible registration services to our members, we have implemented a customer satisfaction measurement tool and have achieved an average Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 82 and a Customer Effort Score (CES) of 6.6/7. In 2024, we will make further improvements to our processes for even better results. Our objective is to sustain an NPS exceeding 80 and a CES of at least 6.5.

Number of Resource Records the RIPE NCC is Responsible for
2020: 140,000 (+8%)
2021: 145,000 (+4%)
2022: 152,000 (+5%)

2023: 156,000 (+3%)

Resources Transferred
2020: 4,254 (-10%)
2021: 6,759 (+59%)
2022: 7,167 (+6%)

2023: 6,200 (-13%)

Company Mergers Processed
2020: 438 (+34%)
2021: 424 (-3%)
2022: 308 (-31%)

2023: 319 (+4%)

More Information

• Request IPv6
• Request an AS Number
• What is IPv4 Run-out?
• How the IPv4 Waiting List Works
• IPv4 Waiting List
• Resource Transfers
• Inter-RIR Transfers
• Mergers and Acquisitions

1.2 Member Services

FTEs: 11.4 (-0.2)
Cost: 1,350 (-2%)
CAPEX: -

Description
Our Member Services team provides support to members, applicants and others who use our services. This includes responding to general queries and processing membership applications, administrative and contractual changes, billing enquiries and account closures. The team is also the first point of contact for questions about the RIPE Database and RIPE Atlas.

Activities in 2024
We have been working to improve the billing process for members by evaluating the feedback we received externally and internally about the 2022/2023 cycle. We are identifying and fixing loopholes in the process in preparation for next year. Our goal is to reduce the number of outstanding invoices while increasing our quality of service. In addition, we are focused on maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the Registry by carrying out verification checks on all members who contact us.

In 2023, our focus has been on resolving tickets with a high level of quality, timeliness and service. We have been using NPS and CES measurements to assess our quality and service and have maintained an NPS of 67 and a CES of 6.4/7. In 2024, we aim to achieve an NPS of 80 and a CES of 6.5. We are also using the results of these surveys to identify pain points in our processes and are creating an ongoing improvement plan to increase our service levels.

In 2024, the IPv4 Transfer Listing Service will be fully decommissioned. As part of this, we plan to consult with members and the community on what role, if any, the RIPE NCC should play in the IPv4 transfer market.

LIR Accounts
2020: 25,352 (+2%)
2021: 23,549 (-8%)
2022: 23,703 (+1%)

2023: 23,372 (-1%)

RIPE NCC Members
2020: 20,307
2021: 20,203 (-0.5%)
2022: 20,381 (+1%)

2023: 20,274 (-0.5%)

More Information

• New Membership Applications
• Due Diligence Information
• Billing Information
• Closure of Members
• Abuse-c Information 

1.3 Registry Monitoring

FTEs: 10 (-0.2)
Cost: 1,350 (0%)
CAPEX: - 

Description
An important part of our work to maintain the accuracy of the RIPE Registry is to verify the information and supporting documents we receive and ensure compliance with RIPE Policies. We also proactively check the accuracy of registry data, primarily through our Assisted Registry Check (ARC) activity and investigation activities.

Activities in 2024
In 2023, we successfully resolved a number of open investigations, particularly those related to sanctions and compliance, bringing our caseload down to more manageable levels. In 2024, we plan to fully clear the backlog of sanctions investigations and prioritise Registry-focused auditing to ensure accuracy and integrity. We will continue to refine our procedural controls to ensure swift responses to legitimate requests. We will also provide support for Registry disputes between members that involve legal mechanisms. 

For sanctions regulation compliance and data accuracy, we are using products from Dow Jones and Dun & Bradstreet, respectively. Upgrades to the product, inflation and the addition of cases into these systems will have an effect on the costs, but at the same time, we are reducing costs overall by optimising our usage of sanctions screening tools Currently, we are notified of changes to company information (company name, legal address and/or registration number) of members that have a DUNS (Dun & Bradstreet) number. In 2024, we plan to implement this for sponsored End Users holding PI space and ASNs as well.

In 2024, our objective is to complete a total of 2,400 ARCs, which equates to 200 ARCs per month. To ensure we reach this goal, we have implemented an automation plan designed to enhance efficiency and productivity in our ARCs. Additionally, we have introduced a dedicated survey for ARCs to help us deliver world-class service. Our objective is to sustain an NPS exceeding 80 and a CES of at least 6.5, signifying our status as a world-class organisation.

Investigations Completed
2020: 251 (+39%)
2021: 692 (+175%)
2022: 1170 (+51%)

2023: 707 (-40%)

Assisted Registry Checks Completed
2020: 4,202 (+38%)
2021: 2,718 (-35%)
2022: 987 (-64%*)

2023: 2,357 (+139%)

*This figure has been corrected from the 2023 Activity Plan and Budget.

More Information

• Assisted Registry Check (ARC)
• Address Hijacking

1.4 LIR Portal

FTEs: 16.9 (+1)
Cost: 2,350 (-7%)
CAPEX: -

Description
As the main interface for our core services, the LIR Portal allows members to securely manage their Internet number resources and related registration information. It has a clean user interface with easy-to-use wizards. Members use it to update their contact, billing and resource information, make resource requests, check the status of tickets and register for RIPE NCC General Meetings. The LIR Portal is closely integrated with the RIPE Database, Registry software and our ticketing system. 

Activities in 2024
In 2023, we improved the security of the LIR Portal by replacing the backend of RIPE NCC Access with Keycloak. Now that this foundation is in place, we will continue improving the security of RIPE NCC Access by standardising sign-on from different applications and providing multiple-factor authentication methods. We also plan to improve the security of our external APIs.

We have significantly improved the architecture of our registry software, making it more resilient and highly available. In 2024, we plan to finalise changes in relation to End Users and how we store their information.

We have also integrated third-party sanctions screening applications with our internal tooling and deployed automation to actively monitor and notify us of changes to the business structure of members. In 2024, we plan to finalise automation of the Assisted Registry Check process to make this easier for members to complete and increase the overall efficiency and accuracy of this activity. We will also provide a UI to make the Assisted Registry Checks easier.

We plan to make UI improvements in the LIR Portal, especially in the billing section. As in 2023, we want to further improve our infrastructure in regard to containerisation of our applications, observability and feedback. We will also update our internal software to increase automation and efficiency in processing requests coming in from the LIR Portal.

There will be an added cost for a planned upgrade of our enterprise content management system, but at the same time we will reduce our consultancy and travel budget.

LIR Portal Uptime
2022: 99.81%

2023: 99.89%

More Information

• LIR Portal
• Requesting Resources Through the LIR Portal
• Business Applications Quarterly Planning

1.5 RPKI

FTEs: 7.1 (-1)
Cost: 1,550 (-20%)
CAPEX: -

Description
RPKI is a certification system that network operators can use to establish that they are the legitimate holders of specific IP resources. As such, it plays an important role in BGP security, since it allows network operators to determine the authenticity of BGP announcements and route accordingly. As a Certification Authority, the RIPE NCC issues these certificates to resource holders and guarantees their authenticity.

Activities in 2024
So far in 2023, we have completed projects focused on the reliability of the repositories: we improved the resilience of the RRDP and rsync repositories, with enhanced fallback infrastructure for RRDP and increased capacity for rsync. 

We have also been working on improving the RPKI Dashboard. We have laid the foundation for a new version and are performing UX interviews to guide us in its design. We will continue work to improve the user experience of the dashboard in 2024. At the same time, we are coordinating with other RIRs on how to improve their APIs and aim to launch a more aligned API between RIRs in 2024. We are also planning to implement missing IETF standards like RSCs (RPKI Signed Checklists) and BGPsec, initially through an API and later integrated with our RPKI Dashboard. We will also be working closely with the other RIRs, in coordination with the NRO RPKI Program Manager, to further align the RPKI service.

Finally, we expect to complete a type 1 ISAE 3000 audit before the end of Q1 2024 and a type 2 audit at the end of 2024. We also plan to execute a security assessment in 2024. Our budget will be lower as we will no longer have a consultant and have reduced our FTEs by one, although this will not affect our ability to deliver on our commitments. We will also be reducing our travel budget.

Uptime of RPKI Repositories

2023: 100%*

*While uptime was 100%, there were a few incidents during the year that caused reduced service quality.

Address Space the RIPE NCC is Responsible for That is Covered by ROAs
2020: 43% IPv4 addresses; 28% IPv6 addresses*
2021: 49% IPv4 addresses; 32% IPv6 addresses
2022: 55% IPv4 addresses; 34% IPv6 addresses*

2023: 64% IPv4 addresses; 37% IPv6 addresses

*These figures have been corrected from the 2023 Activity Plan and Budget.

More Information

• Resource Public Key Infrastructure
• RPKI Quarterly Planning

1.6 RIPE Database

FTEs: 5.1 (0)
Cost: 700 (+9%)
CAPEX: -

Description
The RIPE Database contains public information about the IP addresses and AS Numbers used by networks in our service region. This includes contact details and related attributes. This information is vital for the stability of Internet routing as it allows users to find information for network troubleshooting and coordination.

While we are responsible for operating the RIPE Database, resource holders are responsible for maintaining their own information within it. Our work in this area also supports integration with the LIR Portal and includes related services such as the RIPE Database Proxy Service and Near Real Time Mirroring (NRTM). 

Activities in 2024
We plan to make the RIPE Database infrastructure more reliable and resilient. To this end, we are considering the usage of cloud technologies, though an alternative approach could be to deploy to our new Kubernetes cluster on premise. We plan to have a consultation period with the community in 2024 about this possible cloud migration and are currently working on the consultation document. Once the consultation is complete, we will either proceed with the migration or remain on premise, though we will retain an on-premise backup for the database regardless of which approach we take.

Regarding Numbered Work Items (NWIs), we are working on an implementation plan for NWI-4, “Role of status: field in multivalued status context.” At the same time, we are waiting for a change to the Terms and Conditions for NWI-13, “Geofeed,” before we can review prefix validation and are also awaiting clarification from the community about the requirements for NWI-2, “Displaying history for database objects where available.” We plan to continue implementation efforts on upcoming NWIs in 2024.

We also have work planned on "RDAP Redacted Fields" and "RDAP RIR Search," and we expect to continue work on RDAP features in 2024. In terms of security, we will review and improve both query and update authentication in the database, including the use of SSO access tokens and the deprecation of MD5 password hashes.

We have reserved some of our budget in 2024 for the potential cloud migration of the RIPE Database, which would be similar to the costs for the SSO migration to the cloud. However, our travel budget will be lower. 

RIPE Database Uptime
2022: 100%

2023: 99.97%

More Information

• RIPE Database
• Numbered Work Items
• RIPE Database Quarterly Planning
• Near Real Time Mirroring (NRTM)
• RIPE Database Requirements Task Force

2. Information Services

The RIPE NCC works for the good of the Internet, which means fostering greater technical skills and awareness among the routing community and all Internet stakeholders. We aim to provide insights into routing patterns, resource allocation and the Domain Name System (DNS). Our members and the Internet community at large can use our information services to guide them in building more resilient networks and a more connected world.

Strategic Objectives:

1. Support an open, inclusive and engaged RIPE community
3. Enable our members and community to operate one secure, stable and resilient global Internet

Strategic Goals:

1.4 Maintain excellent relationships with technical, governmental and standards bodies

3.2 Support the global naming system by operating K-root and Authoritative DNS services

3.4 Be a centre of excellence for data, measurements and tools that provide insight on the Internet and its operations

3.5 Support the innovation and evolution of the Internet through contributing to initiatives meant for the good of the Internet

2.1 DNS and K-Root

FTEs: 5.1 (0)
Cost: 850 (0%)
CAPEX: 100 (+4%) 

Description
We provide DNS support for our registered resources and global secondary services to some ccTLDs, as well as reverse DNS (rDNS) services for the IPv4 and IPv6 address space we manage. For reverse DNS associated with the address space managed by other RIRs, we provide secondary DNS services to support the reliability of these reverse lookups. We also operate K-root, one of the Internet’s 13 root name servers, through a set of distributed nodes using IPv4 and IPv6 anycast.

Activities in 2024
We had planned to add a fourth core site for our AuthDNS service in 2022, but global supply chain issues meant the network equipment we needed for this could not be delivered on time. We have therefore postponed this installation until late 2023. The addition of this fourth site will require increased budget in 2024 to begin operations. On the other hand, we will be spending less on travel for this activity.

In 2024, we also plan to keep growing the Hosted DNS footprint for both K-root and AuthDNS and will continue work to upgrade our name servers to newer versions of operating systems.

We also plan to ask the members and the community about the decommissioning of the secondary DNS service for LIRs. This service was originally created to ensure the stability of the DNS service for large allocations, but it no longer fulfils this purpose. Retiring this service will help increase the stability and security of our Authoritative DNS service (and that of our members), stop competing with our membership and stop giving unfair advantage to holders of large blocks of addresses.

K-root Instances
2020: 78 (+14%)
2021: 84 (+7%)
2022: 95 (+12%)

2023: 108 (+14%)

More Information

• DNS
• K-root
• DNS and K-root Quarterly Planning
• AuthDNS

2.2 RIPE Atlas

FTEs: 7.9 (-1.3)
Cost: 1,350 (-4%)
CAPEX: - 

Description
RIPE Atlas is a leading Internet measurement network that provides live and historical information about the connectivity of networks around the world. We run this globally distributed network to collect data on Internet infrastructure, usage and development. The data that RIPE Atlas provides can be used to analyse the operation and growth of the Internet. Operators can use RIPE Atlas to monitor network reachability from thousands of vantage points around the globe, investigate and troubleshoot network issues and conduct customised measurements for valuable data about their own networks.

Activities in 2024
In 2024, we will continue to provide hardware probes for interested users and will distribute probes to the most diverse locations available. In addition, we plan to carry on work on unifying the probe firmware such that it can be easily installed on the most popular Linux distributions as a software package while remaining the basis for our hardware probes as well.

We will continue with the renewal of the data backend, making it more scalable and sustainable while optimising storage costs with the least possible impact on users. At the same time, we will work on renewing the supporting infrastructure, taking advantage of cloud technologies where these prove to be beneficial. The revitalisation of the RIPE Atlas user interface will continue, and we plan to develop further insights to the data collected. There will be extra costs involved in the renewal of the data backend, but these will be balanced by the reduction in our data centre costs and hardware purchases. We will also reduce our travel costs. 

Connected RIPE Atlas Probes
2020: 11,000 (+7%)
2021: 11,500 (+5%)
2022: 11,800 (+3%)

2023: 12,900 (+9%)

Measurement Results per Day
2020: ~900 million (+50%)
2021: ~1000 million (+11%)
2022: ~1100 million (+10%)

2023: ~1300 million (+18%)

RIPE Atlas Anchors
2020: 650 (+36%)
2021: 723 (+11%)
2022: 773 (+7%)

2023: 777 (+1%)

More Information

• RIPE Atlas
• RIPE Atlas Quarterly Planning
• RIPE Atlas Network Coverage
• RIPE IPmap

2.3 RIPEstat

FTEs: 4.1 (0)
Cost: 550 (-8%)
CAPEX: - 

Description
RIPEstat is a web-based application that provides current and historical information about IP addresses, AS Numbers and related information for hostnames and countries. This includes registration information, routing and DNS data, geographical information, abuse contacts and more. RIPEstat draws from both internal RIPE NCC data sets and external sources. Operators can use RIPEstat to analyse global Internet events, get Internet statistics and compare query results across multiple widgets.

Activities in 2024
Our focus for 2024 will continue to be improving service quality through better infrastructure uptime, resilience and scalability. We will achieve this through the use of containers for our infrastructure, as well as by enhancing our measuring and monitoring efforts. 

To ensure that we deliver high-quality data that can be trusted, we will continuously measure the recency of the data on the backend. We will share this information in the RIPEstat Data API so that users have a better understanding of data availability.

Information design is a priority and so we will also improve our UI. We currently maintain two UIs for RIPEstat and we will need to reach a decision on a single UI going forward. Part of these efforts will also be the inclusion of "always-on" surveys embedded in the service that will allow us to continuously measure customer satisfaction, such as through service feature metrics and NPS.

Queries Per Day*
2020: 98 million (+30%)
2021: 67 million (-31%)
2022: 70 million (+4%)

2023: 76 million (+9%)

*This daily average has been calculated based on the last week of June 2023.

More Information

• RIPEstat
• RIPEstat Data API
• RIPEstat Quarterly Planning

2.4 RIS

FTEs: 5.1 (0)
Cost: 900 (-18%)
CAPEX: 60 (-47%) 

Description
Our Routing Information Service (RIS) uses a globally distributed set of Remote Route Collectors (RRCs), usually located at Internet Exchange Points, to collect and store Internet routing data. Volunteers peer with our RRCs using BGP, and RIS stores the update and withdraw messages. RIS data can be accessed either directly or through RIPEstat, RIPE Atlas and other network monitoring tools. Another way to access RIS is through RIS Live, a feed that offers BGP messages in real-time to monitor and detect routing events around the world.

Activities in 2024
In 2024, we will continue to adjust our peering strategy so that we collect more useful data. In particular, we will work on dealing with "noisy peers" that send an excessive amount of BGP updates, slowing processing time and data delivery. At the same time, we will identify which peers we should add and work to add them. We will also continue to improve the quality of the data and infrastructure. The effort to migrate tasks to newer servers will continue. Next to that, we will review our data collection and processing environment in order to improve efficiency. Costs have decreased for this activity as we have adjusted the budget to more accurately reflect our consolidated data storage. The budget here also encompasses data storage for RIPE Atlas, as both services are operated on the same infrastructure. 

Route Collectors
2020: 21 (0%)
2021: 22 (+5%)
2022: 23 (+4%)

2023: 23 (0%)

Peers
2020: 1,261 (+26%)
2021: 1,371 (+9%)
2022: 1,424 (+4%)

2023: 1,499 (+5%)

More Information

• Routing Information Service (RIS)
• RIS Live
• RIS Quarterly Planning

2.5 IT Support

FTEs: 16.2 (+1.1)
Cost: 3,750 (+3%)
CAPEX: 300 (-30%) 

Description
IT provides the backend, infrastructure and network support for all of our internal and external services. We run a state-of-the-art, secure and redundant IT platform with 24/7 support in two data centres and two cloud locations for our services, as well as efficient internal support for staff. Members can flag technical emergencies outside regular office hours so they can be addressed directly.

Activities in 2024
In 2024, we will focus on efficiency and reducing complexity in our infrastructure. To this end, we will continue containerising our applications and deploying them in Kubernetes clusters, either on-premise or in the cloud, based on their criticality level and our cloud framework strategy, and depending on the specific requirements of these services and which platform provides the best advantages. We will also simplify our storage platform by adopting a hybrid two-tier architecture that will reduce costs while meeting the capacity, resilience and performance requirements of our applications. Furthermore, we will greatly reduce our data centre footprint in the backend for RIPE Atlas and RIS and will migrate applications to the cloud or rented metal, as well as replace old hardware with modern, smaller and more efficient versions. We have already changed some of the tools we use to free up even more space in our data centre, reducing our expenses further. Overall, including some additional cost optimisations in IT Engineering, we are aiming to reduce our data centre costs by half by the end of 2024. Finally, we are consolidating the software licences we use and lowering our budget for travel.

More Information:

• Service Announcements
• Report Technical Emergency
• RIPE NCC Cloud Strategy Framework
• RIPE NCC Service Criticality Framework
• IT Quarterly Planning

3. External Engagement and Community

The RIPE NCC is in a unique position to be able to dedicate a portion of its attention and budget to fostering cooperation and knowledge exchange through activities geared towards community building, development and collaboration. We help sustain the digital commons by serving as the steward for the RIPE community and the overall bottom-up system of Internet governance, as well as through promoting responsible resource use and technological innovation.

Strategic Objectives:

1. Support an open, inclusive and engaged RIPE community
3. Enable our members and community to operate one secure, stable and resilient global Internet
4. Maintain a stable organisation with a robust governance structure 

Strategic Goals:

1.1 Support the community in being recognised as inclusive and diverse and one that sees participation from all relevant groups

1.2 Create and foster environments and dialogues throughout the service region to maintain a highly engaged community

1.3 Support the RIPE community’s open, bottom-up process of consensus-based decision-making

1.4 Maintain excellent relationships with technical, governmental and standards bodies

1.5 Increase community knowledge through learning and development activities

3.3 Support the growth of the Internet through promoting the use of best practices for Internet Resources and standards such as IPv6 and RPKI

3.4 Be a centre of excellence for data, measurements and tools that provide insight on the Internet and its operations

3.5 Support the innovation and evolution of the Internet through contributing to initiatives meant for the good of the Internet

4.2 Be resilient in the face of political, legislative and regulatory changes that have the potential to affect our operations

4.3 Protect the Joint Internet Number Registry as developed by the Internet community

3.1 Community Building and Member Engagement

FTEs: 27.5 (+5.2)
Cost: 5,750 (+1%)
CAPEX: - 

Description
The Internet Number System depends on an active, diverse and engaged technical community to provide guidance and direction. Supporting this community has always been a driving force behind what we do as an organisation in our role as RIPE Secretariat. Our community building and member engagement activities are all designed to create environments and feedback loops that help us to better understand members’ needs so we can deliver relevant information and services. Through these efforts, we also inform the community about the services, tools and ideas we are developing that could be useful to their operations.

3.1.1 Community Building

FTEs: 11.6 (+5)
Cost: 3,700 (+8%)
CAPEX: - 

Description
Our RIPE Meetings are the main forum in which we bring the RIPE community together, while the regional events we organise – MENOG, CAPIF, SEE and RIPE NCC Days – allow us to reach communities that might find it difficult or costly to travel to RIPE Meetings. We also build awareness of our data and tools by organising hackathons and Internet Measurement Days. Another way for us to connect with our membership and the RIPE community is through national NOGs, for which we provide funding and logistical support as well as send staff to attend or present. To engage with the academic community, we attend and sponsor academic conferences, collaborate with researchers, organise academic sessions for universities and sponsor students and academics to participate at RIPE Meetings. We also support diversity in the Internet community through our various fellowships and sponsorship initiatives.

Activities in 2024
We have increased the budget for RIPE Meetings to 1,400 kEUR to keep up with growing participation and the rising cost of running the meetings, with the expectation of generating 300 kEUR of ticket income. We have also budgeted 125 kEUR to sponsor and support each  regional activity, as these meetings are important for ensuring we can engage with all of the RIPE community and our membership, especially in parts of our service region that do not frequently host RIPE Meetings. However, we are reducing the number of our outreach activities and contributions overall. We will focus on those that have proven most effective for reaching our community engagement goals. Our travel budget has also been reduced.

After a successful year of events in 2023, we will continue next year with our usual two RIPE Meetings and our regional events: SEE for South East Europe, MENOG for the Middle East and CAPIF for Central Asia. We had originally planned to reduce national outreach activities for 2024 due to budget constraints, but following feedback at the RIPE Meeting and November 2023 General Meeting, the Executive Board has decided to allocate additional funding to support these activities. In practical terms, this means that we will be able to continue to support NOGs and other activities in our service region in 2024, but we will not be running a RIPE NCC Days event next year.

Supporting NOGs will remain a priority in 2024 as we will continue to provide financial assistance and speakers for these events. We will also help NOG organisers and support people interested in creating NOGs in countries that do not yet have any. And we will continue to focus on our online engagements, such as Open Houses and virtual presentations at community events. This includes introducing “local hubs” for the RIPE Meetings to lower the barrier for engagement and minimise participants' need to travel and obtain visas. We will continue our academic engagement as well and will increase the number of academic sessions that we host for students and maintain the number of other sessions. We aim to host these academic sessions in combination with other events to keep the costs minimal.

We will continue with our diversity efforts including RACI, the RIPE Fellowship, and the provision of free childcare at our events, as well as attending other community events and inviting diverse speakers. Part of our efforts to increase the diversity and inclusiveness of the RIPE community will be inviting more newcomers, academics, women and attendees from underrepresented regions. The budget for these activities has also been reduced.

Part of our strategic goal of being a centre of excellence for data and measurements involves ensuring that RIPE Atlas probes are distributed in needed vantage points around the globe and establishing peers for RIS. The increase in overall FTE count comes from two consultants who will be moved to the Employer of Record (EoR) system, two FTEs who have been moved from the Research activity (3.3.2) to this activity to support these efforts, and one FTE who moved from the Technical Training and Development activity (3.2.1) to support RIPE Meeting event coordination.

In 2023, we initiated efforts to build partnerships and raise sponsorships for the RIPE NCC in the areas of event support, data insights and the good of the Internet. Our plan is to increase these efforts in 2024, which we hope will bring in up to 500 kEUR of income to the RIPE NCC’s budget. 

More Information

• RIPE NCC Open House
• Meetings and Events
• Participate in the RIPE Community
• RIPE Meetings
• RACI
• RIPE NCC Hackathons
• RIPE Policy Development
• Current Policy Proposals
• RIPE NCC Community Projects Fund

3.1.2 Membership Engagement

FTEs: 15.9 (+0.2)
Cost: 2050 (-8%)
CAPEX: - 

Description
We maintain a high standard of accuracy and transparency in our reporting and when responding to questions from our membership or the RIPE community. We provide platforms that allow people to access our information, including ripe.net and the RIPE Document Store, RIPE Labs, and the various membership and RIPE community mailing lists. We also publish key RIPE NCC governance documents, including the Annual Report and the Activity Plan and Budget. Our platforms and content keep our members up to date with the RIPE NCC and serve as a forum for the RIPE community to coordinate on policies, planning and best practices. 

Activities in 2024
We are currently in phase one of redesigning our website. By 2024, we will move into phase two, for which we will work on lower-priority features and fixes to ensure feature completeness of the project before moving onto our next major project: replatforming the RIPE Meeting websites.

One area where we aim to help the organisation become more efficient is in our internal communications. We will work on an improved company intranet and review the communications tools we use to see if this can become more of an integrated system. The goal here is to improve alignment among the various departments within the RIPE NCC, which will also translate into more effective communications for our members. 

RIPE Labs is a leading platform that allows the RIPE community and RIPE NCC staff to share insights, ideas, research and stories. We will continue with our popular podcast series and will look at what other features can be added to provide further insights for the community. We have also developed our ability to produce quality multimedia content in various formats to better reach all of our members, and we will continue to develop more in-house video content to help members understand how to complete various common tasks (such as updating contact information in the LIR Portal or registering to vote in the GM).

In response to feedback from members, we have also launched the RIPE NCC Forum. This allows people to interact with our staff and each other in an informal and modern way. Similarly, we have also developed a translation wiki that provides important information in seven languages within our service region. To keep costs to a minimum, we plan to move this wiki onto the redeveloped www.ripe.net and will see if we can involve the community in some of this translation work. Both the forum and translation wiki are part of our work to be more inclusive and ensure that all members can engage with our content and services in a way that is useful to them. We will continue this work next year, looking at how we can present information to our members and the wider RIPE community in a unique and interesting way. 

At the end of 2023, we opened a discussion with the RIPE community on whether to establish a Mastodon instance for the community in order to have a space for the community to participate in social media under the RIPE Code of Conduct, and in order to amplify the RIPE community online in an effort to bring new people into the RIPE ecosystem in a cost-effective way.

We carry out business and membership data analysis that we use to enhance our member services and bring insights to the membership. And we engaged a new third party to run our GM elections and electronic voting. In 2024, we plan to carry on providing business analysis, supporting our governance with well-run GMs and providing transparent documentation and quarterly planning. We will continue to seek member feedback via customer satisfaction results, consultations and engagement efforts. We carried out the RIPE NCC Survey 2023, and in 2024 we will ensure that we are acting based on this survey feedback and communicating the outcomes to members.

We will also work for the RIPE community, providing administrative support and systems that enable the various programme committees, task forces, working groups, the RIPE Chair Team and others to carry out their coordination work for the good of the community.

As part of our efforts to cut costs next year, we will be reducing our spending on various promotional materials and reducing the number of marketing and communications staff we send to meetings. We will also move the majority of our public relations efforts in-house and move away from using agencies to handle our engagements with media. Alongside this, we have reduced our consultancy budget.

More Information

• ripe.net
• RIPE Labs
• RIPE Labs Podcast
• The RIPE NCC Forum
• RIPE NCC Translations
• RIPE NCC Organisational Documents

3.2 Community Learning and Development

FTEs: 13 (-0.8)
Cost: 1,800 (-6%)
CAPEX: - 

Description
A key part of the RIPE NCC’s work is to support our membership through learning and development activities across our service region. Having the relevant skills and awareness of best current practices helps members make informed decisions and improvements to their local Internet. We provide both in-person training courses and webinars in specialised areas like the RIPE Database, IPv6 deployment and routing security. We also provide e-learning courses through the RIPE NCC Academy that allow people to study at their own pace. Our RIPE NCC Certified Professionals Programme helps people get recognised for their expertise by allowing them to sit an exam and earn verifiable digital badges and certificates. The Learning and Development budget was significantly reduced from 2,600 kEUR in 2022 to 1,800 kEUR in 2024. This came as a result of cost reduction strategies that have been put in place since, while keeping the quality of all the offered services.

3.2.1 Technical Training and Development

FTEs: 7 (-0.8)
Cost: 1000 (-5%)
CAPEX: - 

Description
Technical Training and Development is where the technical expertise and knowledge for Community Learning and Development resides. This knowledge is used to deliver learning experiences all over our region as well as to support and improve all of our learning experiences: webinars, in-person courses, e-learning courses and certification exams. This includes the development and maintenance of the different labs we use for the hands-on parts of our learning experiences. Our team is in direct contact with our members and the RIPE community in our in-person courses and when representing the RIPE NCC at events and conferences. We help participants understand our services and broader topics in routing, inform them about our webinars and courses, manage course registration and plan the travel and logistics for our learning events. We also prepare our pool of trainers to deliver learning experiences up to our high standards. 

Activities in 2024
We will reduce costs in 2024, as we will have moved 0.8 FTEs to the Community Building activity (3.1.1) to support RIPE Meeting event coordination. We will also reduce our budget for in-person training, while aiming to deliver almost the same number of courses.

In 2023, we are planning to have conducted 40 in-person workshops in 23 locations in our service region. We have looked for ways to improve our learning experiences with our improved user feedback mechanisms. We also looked for efficiencies in training delivery and costs, such as cost-sharing models for hosted workshops, and will continue to do so in 2024. We also improved our webinars and carried out more online engagements and learning experiences.

In 2024, we will maintain the same level of delivery for webinars. For our in-person courses, we will work on saving costs due to our reduced budget while still delivering a similar or slightly smaller amount of courses, with 175 kEUR budgeted for 20 locations. In our learning experiences, we will keep providing our expertise to the development, improvement and maintenance of all of our portfolio. As in the past year, we will continue to represent the RIPE NCC at events and conferences when we can in coordination with our other activities.

Webinars
2020: 53
2021: 97
2022: 69

2023: 41

In-Person Training Courses and Workshops
2020: 64
2021: 0
2022: 7

2023: 47 

More Information

• In-Person Training Courses
• Webinars

3.2.2 Curriculum Development

FTEs: 6 (0)
Cost: 800 (-8%)
CAPEX: -

Description
Curriculum Development holds the pedagogical and User Experience expertise for Community Learning and Development. We make sure that our learning experiences are of high quality by tailoring content to the learner's needs, ensuring it is relevant and up to date, working with a variety of subject matter experts, utilising sound pedagogical methodologies and techniques, and providing engaging, accessible learning experiences within each service. This includes webinars, in-person courses, e-learning courses and certification exams.

In addition to overseeing the development and maintenance of learning experiences, Curriculum Development runs two services - the RIPE NCC Academy e-learning platform and the Certified Professionals programme.

Activities in 2024
In 2024, we will continue reducing costs and will significantly reduce our budget for Certified Professionals now that we have changed the exam and proctoring provider. We have also reduced our consultancy budget.

In the past year, we focused our efforts on increasing quality, improving processes and searching for efficiencies. This resulted in us changing the exam and proctoring provider for the Certified Professionals programme. We also performed a learning needs assessment that gave us useful feedback we are currently addressing and worked on understanding and improving the user experience, such as by making more information available about our learning paths.

In 2024, we will turn to improving the overall user journey and the learning paths as well as the user experience for some of our services. We will develop several new learning experiences for e-learning, webinars and in-person courses, with a focus on three topics: LIR/RIPE NCC membership, IPv6 (particularly advanced content and labs) and measurements and tools. We will continue to develop learning experiences that meet our high bar for service quality while keeping costs low. For the Certified Professionals programme, we will improve the administrative side of the exam platform. Now that the new platform is in place, we will focus on the quality of exams and their questions. In our e-learning, we will work on improving engagement and user experience in the RIPE NCC Academy. We will continue addressing users’ feedback and work on aligning e-learning and corresponding certification exams.

E-learning Modules Completed (excluding microlearnings):
2020: 5,882
2021 20,176
2022: 29,182

2023: 35,030

Certified Professionals Exams Completed
2020: 317
2021: 1,372
2022: 1,077

2023: 1,139

More Information

• RIPE NCC Academy
• RIPE NCC Certified Professionals

3.3 Community Coordination and Collaboration

FTEs: 7.9 (-2.9)
Cost: 2,050 (-16%)
CAPEX: - 

Description
The RIPE NCC is part of a much larger Internet governance system. We work to support and defend this system, often using the RIPE community as an example of how well it works in practice. Geopolitical tensions as well as the increasing rate of conflicting regulatory developments across our service region have a huge impact on the RIPE NCC and our operations. We have to constantly prepare for and mitigate potential challenges in this area. 

Our work here requires maintaining excellent relationships with technical, governmental and standards bodies. We draw on our expertise as a centre of data to inform key decision makers about our work so that the voice of the technical community does not go unheard. We also coordinate with other technical bodies to ensure the stable operation and governance of the Internet. 

3.3.1 Public Policy and Internet Governance

FTEs: 5 (-1)
Cost: 1,550 (-16%)
CAPEX: - 

Description
Together with the RIPE community, we engage with public authorities in our service region. Through targeted events, publications and outreach, we provide policy makers and agencies with informed perspectives on issues relevant to our membership and the RIPE community. Engagement with public authorities also ensures that we are aware of legislative developments that can affect our operations or our ability to carry out our mission as a Regional Internet Registry.

We collaborate with the other Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) under the umbrella of the Number Resource Organization (NRO), as well as with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Internet Society (ISOC). We also contribute to community-driven Internet governance events, including the global Internet Governance Forum (IGF), where we participate both as the RIPE NCC and as part of the NRO.

Activities in 2024
We have reduced one FTE in this activity, and we have planned for a reduction in the consultant billable hours. We have also reduced the amount of travel and the number of contributions we make to other organisations, mainly towards Internet governance fora, instead prioritising our most effective engagement efforts.

During 2023, we have continued engaging in relevant intergovernmental fora on behalf of the technical community. We have had a great win on the political level by getting the confirmation that an exemption in the EU sanctions packages applies to our members.

Our plans in 2024 are to build better and more meaningful relationships and collaborations with governments and intergovernmental organisations such as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and European Commission (EC). To achieve this, we have  hired an employee in Brussels to get closer to policy makers in the European Commission.

We also plan on continuing with our RIPE NCC Roundtable Meetings to discuss Internet management issues relevant to government, regulators and industry partners. The agenda will generally include presentations related to IP address management, policy-making, Internet governance and RIPE NCC technical activities.

More Information:

• RIPE NCC Roundtable Meetings for Governments and Regulators
• Internet Technical Community Coordination
• Number Resource Organization (NRO)
• RIPE Cooperation Working Group

3.3.2 Research

FTEs: 2.9 (-1.9)
Cost: 500 (-17%)
CAPEX: - 

Description
We have a long tradition of providing the operator community with data analysis on the state of the Internet and developing innovative tools to help the community understand various aspects of routing, DNS, reachability and other topics. We also collaborate with members of the research community. Regular reporting and analysis of RIPE NCC-related statistics and accurate methodological analyses of Internet events provide valuable information that can act as an early warning for the community. 

Activities in 2024
The reduction in the 2024 budget comes from moving 1.9 FTEs from the Research activity to the Community Building activity (3.1.1) in 2024. 

We are currently working on putting out interesting research for our engagements with our community and with policy makers. We have been taking stock of what we have internally in terms of data sources, code and building blocks to optimise the data-to-insight process and reduce the time to insight. Being a centre of data, tools and insight is one of the RIPE NCC’s top priorities in 2024. To support this, we plan to improve our tools and material. Our aim in doing so is to help policy makers and the technical community make more informed decisions related to routing, peering, IPv6 deployment and routing security.

More Information:

• RIPE NCC Country Reports
• RIPE NCC Prototype Tools and Visualisations

4. Maintaining a Strong Organisation

In order for the RIPE NCC to carry out all of its activities in support of our members, our organisation must be resilient to regulatory, political and financial challenges. We must ensure that we are compliant with relevant legislation and secure against any external threats. We also develop internal policies and procedures that will create the most productive environment for staff to carry out our work.

Strategic Objectives:

4. Maintain a stable organisation with a robust governance structure
5. Employ engaged, competent and diverse staff

Strategic Goals:

4.1 Ensure the organisation’s stability and financial strength

4.2 Be resilient in the face of political, legislative and regulatory changes that have the potential to affect our operations

4.3 Protect the Joint Internet Number Registry as developed by the Internet community

4.4 Maintain necessary levels of security and compliance with best practices and applicable regulations

5.1 Attract, develop and retain talented people from across the service region

5.2 Maintain a healthy organisational culture with engaged staff aligned with the organisational values

5.3 Offer working mobility within the service region to support staff and our vision, mission and strategic objectives

4.1 Facilities

FTEs: 4.9 (+1)
Cost: 2,150 (-2%)
CAPEX: 300 (+140%) 

Description
Facilities covers our internal administrative function along with the rent, insurance and maintenance for all facilities and equipment. We have our head office in Amsterdam under a lease contract from 2015-2026, with the option to extend. We also have external storage in Amsterdam and an office in Dubai. Our offices cater for a hybrid way of working where we ensure a secure, healthy and productive environment for our staff. This activity provides efficient and centralised administrative services and staff support, such as travel booking for meetings and events.

Activities in 2024
In 2023, we began several different activities to improve our facilities and will continue these in 2024. We developed an access management policy that will be implemented in the coming months. We have also been focusing on improving the office’s security, and in 2024 we will implement additional security measures and increase staff awareness of security procedures. In late 2023, we will execute a mandatory Risk Inventory & Evaluation (RI&E) assessment together with HR, and any potential findings will be resolved in 2024. We are also considering the future of the office, taking into consideration the space we have, the hybrid setup and number of staff working in the office, the duration of our rental contract and necessary renovations. We are exploring different options for the years ahead.

We have been reassessing all of our business insurances and switching where needed to better insurance providers. As of 2024, we will change our business travel insurance provider to ensure the scope of the insurance is in line with our organisational setup. In addition, we have a new provider for our business travel, and we will be updating our travel policy to improve internal alignment.

We expect there will be some costs related to the future of the office and potential renovation, though we will aim to be as efficient as possible in our spending. Another potential source of costs will be the indexation of existing vendors as this is currently unclear for most vendors. We are looking into cost savings up front to be able to tackle this insecurity.

More Information

• Office Information

4.2 Human Resources

FTEs: 5.8 (+1.3)
Cost: 1,100 (-8%)
CAPEX: - 

Description
We need to attract, retain and develop qualified staff from across our service region to ensure we have the right skills to meet our members’ needs. HR is the People Partner for the organisation in hiring, onboarding and growing the talent of employees in all parts of the organisation. This includes fostering a healthy organisational culture that promotes staff engagement and development.

Activities in 2024
In 2023, we have been working on enhancing our staff engagement, leadership development and recruiting. In 2024, we will give this further attention via accessible intervision activities. We also implemented a setup that allows staff to work from outside of the Netherlands via an Employer of Record (EoR), and we will further develop our policy in the coming year by creating an EoR handbook and documenting a solid process. 

In 2024, our focus will be on employee and talent development and succession planning. This will mean enhancing staff skills and knowledge to increase engagement and retention. We will also work to develop staff resilience to enhance the ability to handle ongoing changes in the organisation and beyond. Another priority will be implementing a compliance framework, further maturing the organisation. Finally, we will optimise HR systems and processes to be more effective, eliminating unnecessary administration. The effect of the different activities will be measured in periodic staff engagement surveys.

Our goal is to carry out our initiatives in a budget-neutral way. However, some changes that we have to implement due to legislation might lead to higher costs; for instance, the implementation of anonymous reporting will lead to additional vendor costs. We will aim to limit these added expenses as much as possible.

More Information

• Staff
• Careers at the RIPE NCC

4.3 Legal

FTEs: 5 (-1)
Cost: 1,100 (-5%)
CAPEX: - 

Description
We maintain a comprehensive legal framework that sets out the standards and procedures for our operations. This is essential to ensure that we remain accountable for all of our activities, that our exposure to liability is limited and that we remain able to support the RIPE community. A key aim is to make sure that our members have confidence in the self-regulatory system we operate under and in existing Internet governance structures more generally. We also work to ensure that our legal framework and procedures are consistent with applicable national and international legislation. As a membership organisation that is legally based in the Netherlands, we must be able to demonstrate full compliance with all applicable sanctions under Dutch law. Finally, we support RIPE community discussions by providing legal analysis for policy proposals and other suggestions related to the operations of the RIPE NCC.

Activities in 2024
In 2024, we will continue ensuring that our procedures and framework are fortified and remain up to date with applicable laws and regulations, including privacy-related ones. Our team will keep working closely with the Public Policy and Internet Governance team in relation to regulatory matters and Internet governance. We will also support the work of the NRO, particularly with the revision of the ICP-2 “Criteria for Establishment of New Regional Internet Registries” document.

Sanctions remain an obstacle for our work, although we have removed sanctions-related restrictions from 49 RIPE NCC members and End Users following a new sanctions exemption from the EU. Due to the confirmation we received regarding the applicability of this exemption, our legal costs related to the evaluation of possible sanctioned members have dropped. In 2024, we will remain committed to pursuing all legal means to ensure we can provide uninterrupted services to all members. We will continue to seek a permanent solution for sanctions that minimises the potential impact on our members.

More Information

• Legal Information
• Sanctions Transparency Reports (Q1, Q2 and Q3)

4.4 Finance

FTEs: 8 (0)
Cost: 1,650 (+7%)
CAPEX: -

Description
High-quality administrative processes ensure that we make efficient use of our resources. Our accounting, administration and reporting adhere to the General Dutch Accounting Standards and aim to provide a true and fair view of our financial situation, beyond what is required by law. We maintain processes to ensure effective cost control and produce useful financial reports to facilitate informed management decisions. We have three priorities in our work. First, we provide efficiency by securing high-performance, low-cost expenditures. Second, we ensure effectiveness by evaluating the utility of expenditures for achieving organisational goals. Third, we comply with legislation as well as RIPE NCC procedures and RIPE Policies.

Activities in 2024
Our finances remained healthy in 2023 despite increasing uncertainty due to inflation, the consolidation of multiple LIR accounts, the war in Ukraine and revenue at risk in Ultra High Risk Countries (as defined by Dutch banks). These factors have led to a reduction in income, which we expect to continue. 

We put significant work into preparing the proposed Charging Scheme models that were voted on by members at the May 2023 General Meeting. Members at the meeting rejected a category-based model as well as models based on the current one-LIR, one-fee model with a price increase. This sent us a clear message that we should increase our focus on cost efficiency. Considering this, as well as the reduction in income from LIR consolidation and revenue at risk, we began to reduce costs in May 2023 with the goal of a break-even result over the financial year 2023. This work will continue as we assess the 2024 budget proposal.

We have worked on improving our internal reporting and procedures to facilitate data-driven decision-making and gain improved insight in cost savings opportunities. Although our current processes are sufficient, we are not yet as far into the project as we would like, so we will continue to focus on this in 2024. We are also currently wrapping up the on-boarding of our external treasury party, which will ensure a professionally managed investment portfolio so that we can generate the maximum return within our very conservative risk profile. In this way, we aim to at least partly offset inflation and possibly even generate a healthy return on our clearing house reserves. We do not intend to increase the risk profile from "very conservative," as we are managing our members’ money and will avoid unnecessary risks.

The budget for 2024 will be business as usual with a slight increase. Leading by example, the Finance Department has also proposed budget cuts for 2024. However, these savings have been offset to ensure sufficient budget availability for any bank charges that may be required once we have a solution for collecting funds from Ultra High Risk Countries. We will also see an increase in costs due to the treasury project. However, both of these efforts should generate additional income by allowing us to collect funds previously at risk and to gain a return on our clearing house reserves.

More Information

• Billing, Payment and Fees

4.5 Information Security, Risk and Compliance

FTEs: 8 (0)
Cost: 2,000 (0%)
CAPEX: -

Description
Both our members and the RIPE community trust us to maintain an accurate Registry of IP resources and provide services that support their operations. Our services not only have to be secured against intrusion, but we also need to make sure our infrastructure is not used to attack others. Considering the services we run, including RIPE Atlas with its 10,000+ probes or our globally distributed K-root nodes, there is a lot at stake. We also need to provide a secure computing platform for our staff that allows them to perform their duties from the office, at home or abroad.

To maintain trust, we are strengthening our internal policies and processes to ensure the security and integrity of our network, information and systems. We have established a new organisational unit that combines the resources for Information Security, Risk and Compliance. Centralising these capabilities supports a better internal focus on these key aspects, together with clear accountability.

Activities in 2024
In 2023, we significantly expanded the scope of our vulnerability management programme, resulting in a 50% reduction in previously identified vulnerabilities. In 2024, we will further optimise our processes for timely detection and remediation of critical vulnerabilities. We have also started a project to achieve certification against the ISO 27001 standard, and our goal is to establish and maintain ISO 27001 compliance in 2024. This includes implementing a comprehensive monitoring programme designed to promptly identify and address potential gaps.

To promote a culture of security awareness among our employees, we have developed a comprehensive programme that is scheduled for launch in Q3 2023. In 2024, we will continue these efforts and will roll out the digital components of our security awareness training. Additionally, we will implement targeted training for functions such as Software Development and Information Technology.

We will also invest in securing our end-to-end code deployment process. This includes addressing future technology stack and security challenges. To this end, we will implement on-demand and/or automated security assessments in the development pipeline. Another of our 2024 initiatives is proactive threat detection and remediation. We aim to increase the percentage of detected threats by expanding security tooling coverage and enhancing our tooling maturity.

In 2024, we will operationalise the risk management framework we developed in 2023 and focus on risk management maturity. We will introduce continuous risk monitoring via Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) and will raise awareness through periodic reporting. We are also developing a policy governance framework to support audit activities for compliance certifications. We will establish a thorough control testing and monitoring initiative to detect and rectify potential gaps in alignment with the assurance controls for RPKI that we implemented in 2023. We will ensure all relevant staff members receive comprehensive training on compliance control implementation, control testing and audit preparations. We will also evaluate and refresh our business continuity planning and processes. We are not reducing our budget in this activity as we are maintaining our organisational focus on security and resilience.

More Information

• Responsible Disclosure Policy
• Information Security, Risk and Compliance Quarterly Planning

4.6 Office of the Managing Director

FTEs: 2.6 (-1)
Cost: 2,200 (-24%)
CAPEX: - 

Description
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the RIPE NCC is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the organisation and is invited to attend meetings of the Executive Board as set out in the Articles of Association. The Managing Director also serves on the Executive Council of the Number Resource Organization (NRO), which is the coordinating body for the world’s Regional Internet Registries (RIRs), and on ICANN’s Route Server System Governance Working Group (RSS GWG) and Route Server System Advisory Committee (RSSAC).

The Office of the Managing Director includes an Executive Assistant who supports the Managing Director and the Executive Board. This activity also involves one advisor, the Founder of the RIPE NCC, as well as the contributions we make to external organisations (see table below).

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer is supported by an executive team for the planning and execution of RIPE NCC strategy and the Activity Plan. The team consists of a Chief Registry Officer, Chief Technology Officer, Chief Community Officer, Chief Legal Officer, Chief Human Resources Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Information Security Officer and Senior Executive Assistant. The team advises the Managing Director and has delegated powers to act on behalf of the RIPE NCC within their areas.

The RIPE NCC Executive Board is elected by RIPE NCC members to represent the membership and provide guidance to the RIPE NCC executive team. The Board is responsible for the overall financial position of the RIPE NCC and for keeping records that allow the current financial situation to be evaluated at any moment. Additionally, the Board approves the RIPE NCC Activity Plan and Budget, appoints the RIPE NCC’s Managing Director and calls RIPE NCC General Meetings. At the beginning of 2024, the members of the Executive Board will be Ondřej Filip, Piotr Strzyżewski, Raymond Jetten, Remco van Mook, Maria Häll, Job Snijders and Harald A. Summa. There will be an election in May 2024 following the end of the three-year terms of Piotr Strzyżewski and Job Snijders.

As our environment becomes more uncertain, with more contradictory challenges and different political developments, we need to adapt and respond quickly. We have developed and will continue to improve our leadership philosophy and remain geared towards resilience, high performance and quality service delivery. An important part of this is having a clear vision and mission and a five-year strategic plan that provides direction for all of our activities.

Activities in 2024
In 2024, the Executive Board plans to hold at least four regularly scheduled Executive Board meetings and two General Meetings. The Board will also participate in RIPE NCC regional meetings and Roundtable Meetings for governments and regulators.

In 2024, we aim to have fully moved beyond Holacracy by introducing a fit-for-purpose holistic management system based on various principles and methodologies. These include Agile and Scrum, Objectives and Key Results, Information Security Management from the ISO 27000 series, risk management and other industry best practices.

In 2023, the budget for the Number Resource Organization (NRO) increased to fund programme managers who work on the three goals outlined in the NRO Strategic Review Process: provide a robust, coordinated and secure RPKI service; ensure the cybersecurity of the RIRs; and proactively engage governments as critical stakeholders in the success of the Internet Number Registry System. In 2024, we expect one Programme Manager to have started. We will continue to offer travel support to the three NRO NC/ASO AC representatives to visit ICANN meetings and other RIR meetings.

We will also continue our three-year commitment to support the Open CSIRT Foundation, and specifically the transition of the “Trusted Introducer” service for CSIRTs from GÉANT to a new independent foundation. Our motivation is to promote closer cooperation between the Foundation and the RIPE community by contributing 50 kEUR per year for three years and serving on the organisation’s Supervisory Board. The RIPE NCC will also remain a member of the Internet Society to support the IETF and collaborate on joint capacity building in our region.

The budget for the Community Projects Fund remains unchanged at 250 kEUR. This fund is distributed by a selection committee comprising a RIPE NCC Executive Board Member and volunteers from the RIPE community who review and select funding recipients. The Community Projects Fund supports projects working ‘for the Good of the Internet', including open source initiatives. The RIPE NCC acts as the secretary and manages the process.

Our budget has been reduced in 2024 due to one less FTE and the removal of a reserve for corporate restructuring costs. We will continue to make a series of annual contributions to organisations that play an important administrative role in global Internet governance. For transparency, all contributions are listed in the table below.

*This is a commitment we have made under the Service Level Agreement for IANA Numbering Services.

4.7 RIPE Chair

FTEs: 1 (0)
Cost: 300 (0)
CAPEX: - 

Description
The RIPE Chair Team is responsible for ensuring that RIPE functions properly and plays an important role in its development as a community. The Team oversees RIPE Meeting planning from selecting the location to setting the agenda. They also support the Working Group Chair Collective and ensure that working groups are created and have chairs elected following relevant RIPE procedures. The RIPE Chair Team ensures RIPE Policies and procedures are being followed so that community processes run smoothly. 

Activities in 2024
As secretariat for the RIPE community, we fund the work of the RIPE Chair Team. In 2020, our Executive Board agreed to remunerate this role in a five-year contract that stipulates the independence of the chair from the RIPE NCC. We also fund the travel and expenses incurred by the RIPE Chair Team in carrying out their duties. The total financial commitment for this activity is budgeted at 300 kEUR for 2024.

More information

• RIPE Chair Team
• RIPE Chair Job Description
• RIPE Community
• RIPE Chair Team Reports (September 2022)

5. Unforeseen Activities

There may be activities that were not entirely foreseen at the time of writing this document or that started recently and are not at the stage where they can be estimated to have a material financial impact. Reacting quickly to changes in the environment or new requirements of the RIPE NCC membership and other stakeholders is always a goal of the RIPE NCC. In line with good corporate governance, any unforeseen activities that arise are developed in close consultation with the RIPE NCC Executive Board. When there is any material financial impact, the Executive Board must approve the resulting action.

The Joint RIR Stability Fund is also in place to mitigate and prepare for unforeseen regional and global disruptions or threats and to safeguard the stability of the RIR system. The RIPE NCC is committed to a maximum contribution of 1,000 kEUR via the fund, which would come out of our reserves if activated. No funds have been budgeted specifically for AFRINIC in 2024. Following the court appointment of an Official Receiver, we trust that AFRINIC will continue its operations and call for elections for a new board in 2024.

Development of the RIPE NCC Reserves

The Table below shows the RIPE NCC’s capital development. The RIPE NCC Capital consists of the Clearing House and any addition to the Clearing House, either from capital gains or from an accumulation of the surplus.

Development of the RIPE NCC Reserves With a Redistribution in 2024 (in kEUR)

Development of the RIPE NCC Reserves Without a Redistribution in 2024 (in kEUR)

Appendix 1:

• Membership Services
• Distribution and Management of Internet Number Resources
• IPv4 Waiting List
• Assisted Registry Check (ARC)
• LIR Portal
• Training Courses and Webinars

Appendix 2:

Activity Plan and Budget 2024 Compared to Forecast 2023

Overview of Costs per Activity

Appendix 3:

Overview of Costs per Activity

Appendix 4:

Changes to the Draft Activity Plan and Budget 2024

Amendments to the Activity Plan

• Added information about the following topics:
  • Addition of 200 kEUR to the budget for national outreach following member and community feedback
  • Decommissioning of the IPv4 Transfer Listing Service
  • Planned consultation on retiring the Secondary DNS service to LIRs
  • RIPEstat UI
  • Planned consultation on establishing a Mastodon instance
  • Clarified our share of the NRO ICANN contribution for IANA number functions

• Minor editorial changes
• Minor rounding changes in the 2023 Activity Plan budget figures